Anime Review: Super Crooks
Johnny Bolt used to be, well, not a “sweet” kid, exactly, but one with at least a little idealism. Comic books based on the Utopian and other superheroes gave him hope that there could be a better life. One night he discovers that he has electrical powers (his mother never has identified his real father) which is awesome! He and his equally downtrodden friend Tom created a superhero identity for Johnny named Electro Boy. Alas, Electro Boy’s debut went horrifically wrong, and Johnny followed the path of petty crime instead.
Years later, we catch up with Johnny as he’s released from his latest prison term. He hooks back up with his hot girlfriend Kacey, who has some ideas on how he can better use his and her skillset. (She has mind control/illusion powers, rare in this setting.) Unfortunately, he’s also greeted by his other friends, low-powered supervillains who talk him into a crime spree that nearly gets them all locked up again, only Kacey’s quick thinking sparing them.
Kacey introduces Johnny to her elderly mentor, The Flame, a non-powered villain who is good at planning. The Flame is putting together a crew for a bold and lucrative job. Despite some hiccups, the job goes well until a combination of coincidence and the interference of major league villain The Bastard makes it all for naught. Shortly thereafter, Johnny’s stupidity causes him to miss his own wedding to Kacey and get imprisoned again.
Five years later, Johnny’s released again. He’s at loose ends until he learns that The Flame is in dire trouble, but this time Johnny Bolt has finally gotten his act together, supposedly, and brings the gang together for an even more impressive heist that will either make all of them millionaires–or dead.
This Studio Bones anime is an adaptation of Mark Millar’s comic book miniseries Supercrooks. It’s a massive expansion; everything before the last paragraph of the plot outline is based on flashbacks that in the comic book lasted a single page or panel, or even just mentioned in passing. It’s set in the same world as Jupiter’s Legacy, but you don’t need to have seen that show to understand this one, and honestly I’d just skip that.
This is very definitely a Mark Millar style story, where our protagonists are assholes who are only sympathetic because they’re up against people who are downright evil. Even the superheroes are jerks; the nicest one we get any focus on cheats on his husband. On the other hand, like many Millar adaptations, the cynicism and grossness are toned down somewhat from the original. (The Japanese language version, for example, has less homophobia.)
There’s some fun action scenes and creative (if often gruesome) use of various powers. One of the episodes has a lot of references to various zombie movies to comedic effect. Forecast the weather controller is a particularly enjoyable character.
Content notes: Gruesome violence, especially when it comes to The Bastard, who has the power to make heads explode, and uses it a lot. There’s a lot of emphasis on Kacey’s “assets”, particularly in the closing credits. Several characters engage in extramarital sex, Johnny and Kacey almost on camera. There’s bullying in the first episode, and still some homophobia. Rough language throughout. This series is firmly in “not for children” territory.
One of the interesting contrasts in the show is between Johnny and Kacey; he is very much willing to use his powers in petty ways to make things easy for himself (even when not doing so would be a better idea) while Kacey very much does not use her powers frivolously, even when it would benefit her. It makes Johnny think she’s smarter than she actually is, but she just has more common sense.
There’s a lot of content issues to get past here, but some excellent material as well. Recommended to people who like heist stories.
